Checked 25 September 2026. Windows from SCFHS's 2026 table ("registration dates are subject to updates"). Attempt rules from the SMLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025), the 2026 blueprint and the SCFHS licensure-exam page, which do not say the same thing. Rescheduling fees are from Prometric's 2022 FAQ.
The SMLE is not held on one date. SCFHS runs it in testing windows of two to four weeks, and you book a day inside one at a Prometric centre. On 25 September 2026 three windows remained open for 2026: 1–22 October, 1–24 November and 1–24 December. This guide sets out every window, when results arrive, and the attempt rules — where, unusually, two official SCFHS texts give different answers.
SCFHS licensure-exam page; SMLE Blueprint 2026; Saudi Board matching 2025.
The 2026 testing windows
| Window | Dates | Calendar days | Status on 25 Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Jan – 22 Jan 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 2 | 1 Feb – 19 Feb 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 3 | 1 Mar – 11 Mar 2026 | 11 | Closed |
| 4 | 23 Mar – 16 Apr 2026 | 25 | Closed |
| 5 | 26 Apr – 14 May 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 6 | 7 Jun – 25 Jun 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 7 | 5 Jul – 23 Jul 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 8 | 2 Aug – 20 Aug 2026 | 19 | Closed |
| 9 | 1 Sept – 24 Sept 2026 | 24 | Closed |
| 10 | 1 Oct – 22 Oct 2026 | 22 | Open |
| 11 | 1 Nov – 24 Nov 2026 | 24 | Open |
| 12 | 1 Dec – 24 Dec 2026 | 24 | Open |
From SCFHS's table of approved periods for its Professional Practice Licensure Exams, which include the SMLE ("Professional Medical"). SCFHS adds that registration dates are subject to updates and asks candidates to check the page regularly.
Calendar days from first to last date in each window, our arithmetic on the SCFHS table — not the number of bookable days, which depends on centre opening days. Blue windows were still open on 25 Sep 2026.
Where other pages get this wrong
SCFHS's 2026 table lists twelve windows, not eleven.
Commonly published instead: "The SMLE is offered in 11 testing windows a year."
The applicant guides still carry an older sentence — "since February 2019, the SMLE will be offered in 11 testing windows" — but the 2026 table on SCFHS's licensure-exam page lists twelve periods, from 4 January to 24 December. Plan from the table.
From booking to sitting
| Step | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Apply | You apply through SCFHS (Mumaris+). Final-year students and interns use the "National Exams Eligibility" service. | SMLE Blueprint 2026; SCFHS guide map |
| 2. Scheduling permit | SCFHS emails a permit with an eligibility period | Blueprint 2026 |
| 3. Book a seat | With Prometric, at any SCFHS-approved centre in Saudi Arabia or abroad; scheduling may not be open more than three months ahead | Blueprint 2026 |
| 4. Eligibility period | "Generally" three months from the date the eligibility is issued | Prometric SCFHS FAQ (2022) |
| 5. Pay | By credit card, when booking online at least two working days ahead | Prometric SCFHS FAQ (2022) |
SCFHS publishes no fixed SMLE seat fee: Prometric says only that the cost "may vary depending on the country you test in". Figures you will see online vary widely, so treat the price shown when you book as the real one. Whether Prometric has SCFHS-approved centres in your Indian city is something only its booking page can tell you — we have not checked each city.
Changing or cancelling a booking
| When you reschedule or cancel | Fee |
|---|---|
| At least 30 calendar days before (Prometric's advice) | None |
| 16 to 30 calendar days before | USD 50 |
| 15 calendar days or fewer before | No refund — the exam fee is lost |
| You arrive over 30 minutes late or do not come | Not admitted, and counted as an attempt unless SCFHS accepts a documented reason |
The fees are from Prometric's SCFHS FAQ (2022) — the latest we found, so check the booking page for current charges — and the lateness rule from the SMLE blueprint. A cancellation outside the penalty period lets you re-book another date rather than giving a refund. Prometric and SCFHS also say they do not reimburse travel or hotel costs if an exam is cancelled for technical reasons, so leave a margin when you book flights.
When results arrive
SMLE results are not given at the centre. SCFHS runs a psychometric analysis once the window closes and announces results within 2–6 weeks of the end of the testing window — so sitting on the first day of a window does not get you a result sooner than sitting on the last. Every candidate gets two reports: a statement of results and a feedback report comparing performance with other candidates. Results appear in the SCFHS portal.
When will my SMLE result come — and when can I sit again?
Results: SCFHS says 2–6 weeks after the window ends, so the range runs from 14 to 42 days after its last day. Windows from the SCFHS 2026 table, which says dates are subject to updates.
| Window | Results, earliest | Results, latest |
|---|---|---|
| 10: 1 Oct – 22 Oct 2026 | 5 Nov 2026 | 3 Dec 2026 |
| 11: 1 Nov – 24 Nov 2026 | 8 Dec 2026 | 5 Jan 2027 |
| 12: 1 Dec – 24 Dec 2026 | 7 Jan 2027 | 4 Feb 2027 |
Our arithmetic: 14 and 42 days after the last day of each window. The Mumaris FAQ says "It takes at most 14 workdays for results to be approved" without naming an exam; the SMLE blueprint and Prometric's SCFHS page both give 2–6 weeks after the end of the window for the SMLE, so that is the figure to plan with.
A worked example: fail in the October window and your result can arrive as late as 3 December. The December window runs to 24 December, so a re-sit that year is possible only if the result comes early and your attempt count allows it.
How many attempts — two official answers
This is the one question where SCFHS's documents do not agree, so here are both. Confirm your own count in Mumaris+ before you book — the system, not a blog, decides whether a booking is allowed.
| Rule | SMLE Applicant Guide and Blueprint 2026 | SCFHS licensure-exam page (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to pass | Up to four times a year, counted from the first attempt | "If the first attempt is not passed: Two additional attempts are granted"; "The exam opportunities may be repeated after one year from the date of the first attempt in case of failure to pass" |
| Same window | Never twice in one window: the first dated test counts; the second is an attempt with an invalid result | — |
| After a pass | Two further attempts to improve the mark for residency selection | "If the first attempt is passed: Two improvement attempts are granted" |
| Later improvement | One further attempt a year, one calendar year after the second improvement attempt (Applicant Guide only) | An annual improvement attempt once per training year, if classification and registration requirements are met |
Prometric's SCFHS FAQ (2022), written for SCFHS licensing exams in general, says a candidate has only three attempts to pass — an older and more general statement than either of the above. SCFHS's procedural guide for classification (August 2025) adds the classification-side rule: an applicant has four attempts a year to pass the professional assessment, and after failing, the classification application is rejected and a new one can be made one year after the previous application.
Where other pages get this wrong
The applicant guide sets no waiting period between SMLE attempts — only a rule against two sittings in one window.
Commonly published instead: "A mandatory waiting period applies between attempts" and "up to four attempts per calendar year".
The applicant guide and blueprint say four times a year "starting from the first attempt to obtain a pass score" and forbid two sittings in the same window; neither sets a gap in days, and the year runs from your first attempt, not from January. The SCFHS licensure page does add a one-year rule — opportunities "may be repeated after one year from the date of the first attempt in case of failure to pass" — which reads as applying once the allowed attempts are used up. That is why both texts are shown above.
How long an SMLE result lasts
| For | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Board residency matching | 5 years | Saudi Board matching 2025 ("valid for 5 years only during the application period") |
| Classification and a GP licence | No general figure published | Not in the applicant guide, blueprint or classification criteria |
| SCFHS registration (after classification) | 2 years, then renewal | Mumaris FAQ; procedural guide (Aug 2025) |
| A repeat assessment | Exempt if SCFHS assessed you in the same specialty within 5 years (except high-risk specialties) | Membership criteria (Aug 2025) |
Where other pages get this wrong
No SCFHS document says an SMLE pass is valid for two years.
Commonly published instead: "Your SMLE result is valid for 2 years."
The only validity SCFHS states for the result is five years for Saudi Board matching. Two years is how long a registration lasts once you are classified and registered — a different thing, and possibly where the claim comes from. The membership criteria also let SCFHS skip a repeat assessment for someone it assessed in the same specialty within five years.
The SMLE and residency matching
| Component | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Licensure Exam (the SMLE) | 55% | Pulled automatically from SCFHS records |
| Bachelor's GPA | 30% | |
| Portfolio | 15% | Its clinical-experience item needs at least 6 months after internship in your first-preference specialty |
This weighting is why the improvement attempts exist: the SMLE is more than half of a Saudi Board matching score, so a pass at 570 and a pass at 680 are very different results for a residency applicant. SCFHS's 2025 matching document charges no application fee (300 SAR for a one-time portfolio re-evaluation), and a matched candidate still needs a valid professional classification, a sponsor letter and the annual training fee to register. It does not publish a minimum SMLE score for matching or a priority rule for non-Saudis.
Practise it, don't just read it
Results take 2–6 weeks after a window closes, so a failed October sitting leaves little time before December — enter the window prepared.
The ProSyllabus SMLE library has topic quizzes for Internal Medicine (cardiology and respiratory; endocrine, renal and gastroenterology), General Surgery and Trauma, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Infectious Disease and Microbiology, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care and Community Medicine, Ethics and Saudi Health Practice. Each question comes with an explanation.
What are the SMLE exam dates in 2026?
SCFHS lists twelve 2026 windows. Those still open on 25 September 2026 were 1–22 October, 1–24 November and 1–24 December. You book any available day inside a window at a Prometric centre.
How long does the SMLE result take?
Two to six weeks after the end of the testing window, not after your test day. You receive a statement of results and a feedback report in the SCFHS portal.
How many times can I take the SMLE?
The applicant guide and blueprint say up to four times a year from your first attempt, never twice in one window; the SCFHS licensure page describes two additional attempts after a failed first attempt. Check your count in Mumaris+.
Can I retake the SMLE after passing?
Yes. Both official texts give two improvement attempts after a pass, intended to raise the score for residency selection, with a further annual improvement attempt under conditions.
How long is the SMLE result valid?
Five years for Saudi Board matching. SCFHS publishes no general validity period for classification; SCFHS registration itself lasts two years before renewal.
What is the SMLE reschedule fee?
Prometric's SCFHS FAQ (2022): free 30 or more days before, USD 50 between 16 and 30 days, and no refund within 15 days.
What happens if I miss my SMLE appointment?
Arriving more than 30 minutes late or not arriving means you are not admitted, and it counts as an attempt unless SCFHS accepts a documented reason.
Sources
- official — SCFHS — Professional Practice Licensure Exams: 2026 periods and attempts
- official — SCFHS — SMLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025)
- official — SCFHS — SMLE Blueprint 2026
- official — Prometric — SCFHS FAQ (2022)
- official — Prometric — SCFHS
- official — SCFHS — Saudi Board matching 2025
- official — SCFHS — Mumaris FAQ
- official — SCFHS — procedural guide for classification and registration (Aug 2025, Arabic)
- official — SCFHS — Membership Regulation criteria (Aug 2025, Arabic)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
